There are numerous mouth guard protectors which typically cover the upper teeth and can cushion a blow to the face, minimizing the risk of broken teeth and injuries to the soft tissues of the mouth.
In addition to such mouth protectors, there are numerous mouth guards on the market created to protect children and adults teeth from the effects of bruxism. Whether the mouth guard is to prevent the effects of bruxism or are created to protect athletes, sports participants and others from injuries inflicted on the face, jaws, teeth and soft tissues, such prior art mouth guard protectors which being inexpensive and come preformed, ready to wear don't fit very well. Moreover, they are bulky and can make breathing and talking difficult. Additionally, mouth protectors utilized in the sports arena are not particularly well adapted to prevent the effects of bruxism.
As part of the prior art are so-called boil and bite mouth guards which are mouth protectors available from many sporting goods stores and offer a better fit than standard stock mouth protectors. Typically they are softened in water, whether heated or not, and are inserted and allowed to adapt to the shape of the individual's mouth. However, if directions are not followed carefully, the patient can end up with a poor fitting mouth protector.
Further, there are custom fitted mouth protectors made up by a dentist for an individual patient. Note, they are more expensive than the versions described above, but because they are customized they can offer a better fit than anything bought off-the-shelf. These mouth protectors come in two categories, mainly a vacuum custom made mouth guard and a pressure laminated custom made mouth guard.
The above mouth protectors are primarily used to ward off impact and are not particularly well adapted to eliminating the effects of grinding of one's teeth.
As to bruxism, there is a prior art teeth grinding protector available on the market called an NTI-TSS Grinding Protector in which a small splint is placed on the anterior teeth to keep the back teeth apart. These protectors are only partially successful and not often used. Note if the protector is loose and falls, there is a danger of being swallowed accidentally.
As will be appreciated, with all of the above mouth guards, there are many complaints from patients regarding the mouth protector fitting well in their mouths and children will rarely ever wear them due to the ill fitting nature of the mouth guard as well as other inconveniences in their use.
Note for the present purposes, bruxism is a habit of clenching and grinding of the teeth. It most often occurs at night during sleep, but may also occur during the day. It is an unconscious behavior or habit perhaps performed to release anxiety, aggression or anger. Bruxism occurs when people clench or tightly hold their top and bottom teeth together or grind their teeth, meaning sliding the teeth back and forth over each other. This wears away the teeth surfaces, with teeth surface abrasion the most clinically important sign of bruxism. Note, as far as pediatric bruxism is concerned, there is a standard type of bruxism or a so-called eccentric bruxism, both of which are preventable with the proper type of fitted mouth protector.
By way of further background, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,193; 5,876,199; 5,678,993; 5,636,397; 5,499,633; 5,163,840; and 5,130,838 are examples of various types of mouth guards.
Their uses included prevention against injury, prevention of snoring, providing a jaw joint protective device, and include soft denture liner materials. Moreover, some of the above patents are useful in orthodontic correction procedures and protect teeth from bruxism.
More particularly, there has been an observation that during practicing and tending to dental treatment for pediatric patients, it is well documented that over 30% of children have a bruxism or grinding problem. As a result teeth are considerably worn and the resulting wear causes pulp exposure most of the time. As well as being observed in children the above applies to the adult population.
In summary, many complaints are heard from patients about the inability to wear a mouth protector for one reason or another. Moreover, even when tight fit mouth protectors are made of hard plastic material which reduces the acceleration of occlusional wear, they do not eliminate the problem.